Category Archives: Application Process

In October and November, my hopes were high. Or rather, my confidence was high. People around me were always complimenting me and reassuring me that I will “for sure get into the school of my choice,” and I eagerly swallowed their words and became full of hubris, impatiently waiting for my acceptance letters.

When March finally arrived, the first two letters I opened were acceptance letters. Upon their arrivals, I was convinced that more were on the way, so I did not give much thought to them as they were from my “safety schools.” With such inflated expectation, opening the following three mail and emails that began with something along the lines of “After a thorough review of your application for admission, I am sorry to inform you that …” and “After careful consideration of your application, the Admissions Committee has decided to place you on our wait list…” quickly left me deflated and in disbelief.

All throughout my high school years, I had pushed myself in doing my best so that I could get into a prestigious college and don a hoodie with the prestigious college’s name smack in the center without feeling pretentious. However, these three emails and mails made me realize that perhaps my efforts in maintaining an almost straight-A GPA, staying up late doing homework, choosing studying over going out, and so much more, had all been futile.

Yet while I was researching one of my “safety” schools, my sadness and distraught were somewhat lifted. I had been accepted to the school’s top major, Chemical Engineering, which is ranked 8th in the U.S. News & World Report’s rankings. I had been completely unaware of this, as I had done no prior research before applying. I had decided to apply to that school five minutes before turning in my application and had chosen Chemical Engineering only because Undecided Engineering was not an option, and in the end, my last-minute indecisiveness got me into a pretty good place. Although I do not know if I will enroll at this school yet, this “discovery” helped me realize that all will eventually work out, no matter where I end up at, as all is for the best.

Like this:

1 Common App essay, 3 writing supplements, 4 music supplements, 2 recommendation letters (1 from my academic teacher and 1 from my club advisor), yet I still have a nagging feeling that I am not good enough to become a Fighting Irish at University of Notre Dame.

Like this:

It’s late October already, so that means D-day, or college application due date, for seniors and other college applicants is fast approaching. For early action/ decision applicants, that day is much sooner, some time in early November.